Street sweeper



March 17, 1953 M. F. FITZPATRICK 2,631,314

STREET SWEEPER Filed Aug. 25, 1945 5 Sheets-Sheet l ATTORNEY March 17, 1953 M. F. FITZPATRICK 2,631,314

STREET SWEEIPER Filed Aug. 25, 1945 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 ATTORNEY March 17, 1953 M. F. FITZPATRICK STREET SWEEPER 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Aug. 25, 1945 5 3 0 w WT Q W m -1 3 O 6 3 n w, 0 M 4 .4 W d h m Ja a a am? m fl 1.1M n O nu WE L w E m U A u u 1 w m 1 mm v m 5 6 WW 6444245 U I l HUM l2} 6 5 0 0 O J a T 5 n 4* Amy HQ 7 1 2 Pm m .2 m 0 m 6 Patented Mar. 17, 1953 UNITED STATES? QFFICE 3 Claims.

My invention relates to a street sweeper and more particularly to an improved type of sweeper which may be detachably carried by a truck or the like.

It is a general object of the invention to provide an improved sweeper embodying several features of advantage over sweepers now known.

It is another object to provide a street sweeper detachably carried by a truck or other vehicle, whereby when not required it may be detached an the vehicle used for other purposes.

Another object is to provide a street sweeper to be carried by a vehicle and embodying a driving motor unitarily carried by the sweeper.

Another object is to provide an improved gutter scraper and broom protector.

It is another object to provide an improved sweeper carrying a hopper for sweepings and which may be readily dumped.

Another object is to provide improved hydraulic drive means for a sweeper and the like.

Other objects and various features of novelty and invention will be hereinafter pointed out or will become apparent to those skilled in the art.

In the drawings which show, for illustrative purposes only, a preferred form of the invention- Fig. l is a perspective view of an improved sweeper attached to the forward end of a truck;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the sweeper shown in Fig. 1 and illustrating capability of angular adjustment of the sweeper relatively to the truck;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view through the sweeper of Fig. 1, taken substantially in the plane of the line 3--3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged detail view of a combined scraper and broom guard;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken substantially in the plane of the line 5--5 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken substantially in the plane of the line 6-6 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 7 is a transverse sectional view through a sweepings hopper;

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary, schematic view, illustrating hydraulic drive and control mechanism.

My improved sweeper is designed to be carried preferably by the forward end of a truck or other vehicle and is preferably quickly detachable from the truck so that the latter may be used for other purposes. The improved sweeper may be readily adjusted for spacing from the street surface and for raising to inoperative position, such adjustment and raising being controlled from the cab of the vehicle vcarrying the sweeper. The broom, -,of rotary type, isdriven preferably by a hydraulic motor unitarily carried with the sweeper and controllable by the operator from the cab of the truck. An adjustable shoe is preferably associated with the sweeper so as to act as a gutter scraper and at the same time as an effective curb guard for the rotary broom.

In the preferred form the mounting of the sweeper is such that it may be adjusted angularly so as to sweep debris to one side of the sweeper and this is a particularly valuable feature when the sweepings hopper is not employed for catching street sweepings.

In the illustrative embodiment, the sweeper is carried by the forward end of a truck, which has a sturdy framework 5 at the forward end thereof carried by the truck frame and properly braced so as to carry and adequately support the sweeper.

The sweeper includes a sturdy frame preferably including end beams in the form of channels, such as the right-hand channel 6. An arched beam structure I forms, a part of the sweeper framework and supports the housing or cover 8 and provides an adequate frame support for the hydraulic broom motor 9, which as indicated preferably forms a unitary part of the sweeper.

The broom, including a broom drum l0 provided with the usual bristles II, is supported by the frame. In the form shown the projecting journals 52 on the broom drum are mounted in bearings it carried by a journal plate 4. The two end journal plates suchas l4 may be mounted on the framework as by means of pivot bolts 15 and the plates I4 may swing about the pivot bolts 15 and be held in adjusted position as by means of bolts l6 passing through one of the adjustment holes l'i. Thus, as the bristles wear, the journal plates [4 may be swung downwardly so as to properly engage the street surface, while the housing ii and sweepings hopper I8 remain properly spaced from the street surface.

The rotary broom is driven preferably by an hydraulic motor 9, which, as stated, preferably forms a unitary part of the sweeper structure. The drive from the motor 9 to the rotary broom may be in the form of a chain 19 trained over motor 9,-in a counterclockwise directionas viewed in Fig. l, the street sweepings will be carried forwardly and in one form of the invention into the sweepings hopper I8. This hopper is a boxlike structure having a lower wall 23 which preferably projects into relatively close proximity to the broom as well as to the street surface, so as to effectively catch the sweepings carried forwardly and upwardly by the bristles. The hopper l8 may be hinged at the top, as indicated at 24, so that when it is desired to dump the hopper the forward end is simply elevated so that the hopper swings about the hinge 24 and deposits the sweepings on the street where they may be shoveled up into a receptacle.

In order to protect the broom against damage by the curb and also to loosen caked debris in the gutters, I preferably provide my sweeper with a guard, illustrated particularly in Figs. 1, 4, and 6. The guard may consist of a plate 25, which is slidably secured to the frame 3 as by means of slots 26 and guide bolts 27, as will be understood. The plate is provided with an abutment 28, and a coil spring may be interposed between the abutment 28 and the lower flange of the frame channel 6. The spring may be held as by a pin 29. Thus the shoe plate 25 is always urged downwardly into engagement with the street surface. A hardened wear shoe 39 may be attached to the bottom of the plate 25, and the shoe at its inner side is preferably provided with a long cam surface 3!. Thus, as the hoe 30 engages the gutter, it loosens any caked debris, and the cam surface 3! tends to force the loosened material inwardly so that the broom bristles may sweep such debris forwardly and into the hopper. Such is the preferred mechanical structure of the sweeper.

The sweeper unit may be attached to the truck as by means of cars 32 at the top and 33 at the bottom. These ears may be adequately supported by the frame members 6-! heretofore noted. The truck carries a platform 34 pivoted to the truck frame at 35 and which may be supported and raised when desired by the rods 36 of hydraulic pistons in cylinders 37. Springs 38 may serve to cushion the platform 34 in its up and down movements incident to normal operation. The ears 32-33 may be attached to channels or arms, such as 39, carried by the platform frame 34 at one side and at the opposite side the lower arm 40 and the upper arm 4| may be carried by a sliding bracket arm 42 held in various positions of forward and back adjustment as by means of a pin 43 fitting in various adjusting holes, as will be understood. The sweeper mechanism may be pivotally carried from the platform frame 34, as shown at 44, and the upper end may embody spring buffer means 45 to cushion the shocks incident to up and down movements of the sweeper structure. The platform structure and its raising and supporting mechanism may be substantially the same as that shown in my prior Patent No. 2,317,680.

The sweeper may be operated as follows:

The truck has a power take-off for operating the hydraulic pump 46 mounted on the truck frame. The pump draws oil from the sump 41 and delivers to the control valve 48 of the hydraulic motor 9 and to the control valve 49 for the lifting jacks 31. The valves 48 and 49, which are standard hydraulic valves, are controlled, respectively, by the actuators 50 and 5| in the cab within convenient reach of the operator or helper. By actuating the valve 49, the platform framework 34, together with the entire sweeper structure, may be lifted upwardly to an inoperative position while the sweeper is being taken to and from the sweeping area. By manipulation of the valve 49, the sweeper may also be dropped to sweeping position so that the broom either supports the entire sweeper structure or the latter may be supported in whole or in part by the lifting jacks 31, as will be understood. By manipulation of the valve 43, the motor 9 is set in operation or stopped as desired and the rotary motion of the motor is transmitted to the broom by suitable mean as heretofore described. With the broom in rotation, the truck is simply driven along the street and the debris swept up and deposited in the hopper. If it is desired to sweep, say, toward the curb and not collect the sweepings in the hopper, the sweeper may be adjusted at an, angle by means of the adjusting pin 43 so that the sweeper will assume the position as shown in Fig. 2. At all times the guard plate 25 acts to prevent the bristles from riding up over the curb and thus prevents injury to the bristles.

When the sweeper is to be detached from the truck, it is only necessary to disconnect the two hose connections 52-53 and mechanically disconnect the ears 32-33 from their respective supports on the truck. The sweeper with its drive motor is a unitary structure always ready for operation by merely connecting the two bydraulic hoses. The sweeper is effective for street sweeping and particularly for gutter sweeping. The broom is readily adjustable to compensate for bristle wear and there is no danger of curb damage to the bristles.

While the invention has been described in considerable detail and a preferred form illustrated, it is to be understood that various changes may be made within the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a street sweeper, a frame, connecting means for removably connecting said frame to the forward end of a vehicle, and a rotary broom carried by said frame, said connecting means includin two spaced longitudinally extending support members, said frame being pivotally connected to one of said support members and having longitudinally adjustable means spaced from said pivotal connection to be connected to the other of said members, whereby depending upon the sweeping operation to be performed. said broom may be oriented to sweep either in the direction of vehicle travel or to one side thereof, and longitudinally resilient means carried by said frame to absorb forces transmitted from the broom to said connecting means.

2. In a unitary street-sweeper attachment to be pushed forwardly in advance of a propelling vehicle, a frame, connecting means for removably connecting said frame to the vehicle, a rotary broom carried by said frame, means for adjustably spacing said broom with respect to said frame to compensate for broom wear, a covering hood over said broom and secured to said frame, a hydraulic broom-driving motor secured on one end of said hood, sprocket-drive means directly connecting said hydraulic motor to one end of said broom, and arranged to sweep said-broom forwardly, said sprocket-drive means including means for automatically tensioning its sprocket chain for a plurality of spaced adjustments of said broom, detachable hydraulic-motor supply lines for attachment to a source of hydraulic power on the vehicle, and a hopper hingedly suspended from the forward edge of said covering hood and substantially coextensive with the length of said broom, said hopper being accessible forwardly of said sweeper for manual tilting to discharge sweepings ahead of the sweeper for ready removal without moving the vehicle or the sweeper.

3. In a street sweeper, a frame supported for vertical and horizontal displacement upon a wheeled vehicle, a rotary broom carried thereby, a scraper plate provided with a wear shoe having an inwardly directed surface for deflecting debris toward the broom mounted on the frame for vertical displacement, spring means urging said wear shoe toward the street, said scraper plate having a surface for scraping engagement with side of a curb, said scraping surface being positioned laterally at least as far outwardly as the curb side end of the broom to prevent engagement between the broom bristles and the curb by limiting 6 horizontal displacement of the frame toward the curb MICHAEL F. FI'IZPATRICK.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 723,474 Pike Feb. 19, 1903 1,006,611 Wefer Oct. 24, 1911 1,417,231 Deweese May 23, 1922 1,7483% McKinney Feb. 18, 1930 1,803,932 Dooley May 5, 1931 1,904,881 Presbrey Apr. 18, 1933 2,046,679 Furstnow July 7, 1936 2,194,297 Drumm Mar. 19, 1940 2,248,012 Phillips n. July 1, 1941 2,286,245 Wilson et al June 16, 1942 

